Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF
Performance
Total return to 23 Oct 2026, distributions reinvested, before franking. ASX figures are to 30 Sept 2026 and gross of franking, so they run higher for franked Australian funds.
What it costs to hold
Management fee plus trading costs, compared with similar funds.
A typical fund among Australian fixed income funds would cost $131 (0.26% a year), so VAF is $77 cheaper.
Spread is the average gap between buying and selling prices on the ASX. Fees are shown on a flat balance, not compounded on growth. Excludes tax and any adviser or platform fees.
Calendar-year returns
Where the money is
Look-through exposure as at 31 July 2026 · 275 securities · top 10 = 80.2%
Country
Sector
Monthly returns
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0.1 | 0.9 | −1.4 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.8 | 0.9 | 1.5YTD | ||
| 2025 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 | −0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | −1.0 | −0.4 | 3.3 |
| 2024 | 0.0 | −0.2 | 1.2 | −2.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.5 | −2.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 2.7 |
| 2023 | 2.6 | −1.3 | 3.1 | 0.1 | −0.9 | −2.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | −1.4 | −2.0 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 4.8 |
| 2022 | −1.3 | −1.1 | −3.3 | −2.3 | −0.3 | −1.8 | 3.7 | −2.6 | −1.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | −1.9 | −9.7 |
| 2021 | −0.4 | −3.5 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.9 | −0.0 | −1.4 | −3.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | −3.0 |
| 2020 | 2.3 | 0.8 | −0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | −0.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | −0.3 | −0.2 | 4.3 |
| 2019 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.6 | −0.3 | −0.7 | 0.8 | −1.7 | 7.0 |
| 2018 | −0.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | −0.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.8 | −0.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 4.6 |
| 2017 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | −0.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | −0.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | −0.8 | 3.3 |
| 2016 | 0.7 | 1.2 | −0.2 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | −0.2 | −1.4 | −1.5 | −0.2 | 2.2 |
| 2015 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | −1.1 | 0.3 | −1.0 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | −0.9 | 0.7 | 2.6 |
| 2014 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.9 | −0.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 9.9 |
| 2013 | −0.0 | 0.4 | −0.2 | 1.6 | −0.3 | −1.1 | 1.3 | −0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | −0.3 | 0.5 | 1.8 |
| 2012 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Total return each month in %, distributions reinvested, before franking. The latest month runs to the last price date. The first year starts from listing.
Top holdings
Most similar funds
Overlap is the share of the portfolio held in common, look-through. Correlation is of daily returns. High overlap means close substitutes.
VAF questions answered
Written from the latest data on this page. General information only, not financial advice.
How diversified is Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF?
Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF holds 275 securities.
Its largest country exposure is Australia at 86.6%, based on holdings as at 31 July 2026.
Which ETFs does VAF double up with most?
VAF shares the most holdings with Vanguard Australian Government Bond Index ETF (VGB) (79% overlap), VanEck 5-10 Year Australian Government Bond ETF (5GOV) (77% overlap) and VanEck 1-5 Year Australian Government Bond ETF (1GOV) (77% overlap). Overlap is the share of the portfolio the two funds hold in common, looking through to the underlying securities.
At 79%, owning both VAF and VGB would mostly double up on the same investments rather than spread your money further.
How is Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF managed – active or passive?
Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF is passively managed: it follows an index and holds what that index holds, rather than relying on a manager's stock picks.
Among Australian fixed income funds, active funds charge a median 0.43% a year and index funds 0.22%.
What will I pay in fees for VAF?
VAF charges a management fee of 0.10% a year, about $10 for every $10,000 invested. That is cheaper than 94% of the 471 ASX ETFs we track, where the median fee is 0.44%. Among Australian fixed income funds, the median is 0.24%.
Lower-cost funds with a similar focus include Macquarie Core Australian Bond Active ETF (MQFI) at 0.09% and Betashares Bloomberg Ausbond Composite ETF (COMP) at 0.07%.
If you would rather have a manager choose the investments, active options such as Betashares Australian Hybrids Active ETF (HBRD) at 0.55% and Macquarie Subordinated Debt Active ETF (MQSD) at 0.29% cost more.
The fee is taken from the fund's assets and is already reflected in its returns. You'll also pay brokerage when you buy or sell, and the bid-ask spread, which has averaged 0.05% for VAF.
Does Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF follow a theme?
No. Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF is a broad fixed income fund: it aims to cover a wide slice of its market (Australia) rather than one theme or sector.
What is under the hood of VAF?
As at 31 July 2026, the largest issuers among VAF's holdings are Australia Government Bond (45.7% across 30 bonds), Treasury Corp of Victoria (9.2% across 15 bonds), New South Wales Treasury Corp (8.6% across 14 bonds), Queensland Treasury Corp (6.3% across 12 bonds), Western Australian Treasury Corp (1.2% across 5 bonds) and South Australian Government Financing Authority (0.9% across 4 bonds).
It follows an index; the issuer's PDS sets out how that index chooses and weights its holdings.
How well has Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF performed?
Based on its category, Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF aims mainly to pay a regular income, with capital growth secondary.
To 23 Oct 2026, with distributions reinvested, it returned −0.8% over 1 year (median 0.4%; ranked 21 of 36), 4.2% a year over 3 years (median 4.5% a year; ranked 18 of 27) and 0.5% a year over 5 years (median 1.4% a year; ranked 14 of 22). The medians and rankings compare it with Australian fixed income funds. Since listing in 2012 it has returned 2.5% a year.
Tracking difference is the gap between a fund's return and its index's return. We don't hold index returns, so we can't measure it for VAF; the issuer reports it in the monthly fact sheet. As a guide, a well-run index fund trails its index by about its fee, here 0.10% a year, and a much bigger gap is a warning sign.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.